FCC May Require Baby Bells
To Open Networks to Rivals

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission is considering requiring the Baby Bells to open parts of their high-speed telephone networks to rival carriers, triggering protests from the Bells.

The agency raised that prospect Friday as part of a wider plan to mandate what kind of network access incumbent local-phone companies should offer competitors. As part of the 1996 telecommunications act, the FCC had required that the Bells open seven other parts of their telephone networks, arguing these were necessary to...